Portland Timbers and Make-A-Wish Foundation Team Up to Give 8-Year-Old Cancer Patient and His Soccer Team the Thrill of a Lifetime (Videos)

By the end of this post, the Portland Timbers are going to be your new favorite Major League Soccer team. But let me start at the beginning.

Last year, a soccer-loving Portland kid named Atticus Lane-Dupree discovered he had a cancerous tumor on his kidney. Doctors removed the kidney and the cancer, but afterward he had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy, and as a result, he had to miss the last game of his team’s season, which really bummed him out. However, while undergoing his treatments, Atticus got the opportunity to make a request to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And instead of wishing for something that was just a reward for himself—like the standard wish for a trip to Disney World—he wished for something that would reward and thank his soccer team, The Green Machine, for being so supportive during his battle against cancer.

What was Atticus Lane-Dupree’s wish? For his team to play a game against the Portland Timbers.

Now, obviously, that was a tall order. It’s not so much that the team wouldn’t want to do it; it’s just that to make it happen a lot of logistical challenges would have to be overcome.

However, Make-A-Wish Oregon and the Timbers didn’t just make it happen. They made it ridiculously awesome!

Instead of just sending a couple players out to the Green Machine’s home field like you might expect, the Timbers brought the Green Machine to their stadium, Jeld-Wen Field. Then they solicited the help of their independent supporters group, the Timbers Army, and they came through by getting over 3,000 rowdy people in the stands for the game, cheering for the Green Machine.

Here’s what the stadium looked like when the Timbers took on the Green Machine on Wednesday:

And here’s what it sounded like when they booed their own team for scoring on the Green Machine:

So how did the game go? Well, it was a close, high-scoring affair. But thanks to a last-minute goal off a set piece by Atticus Lane-Dupree, the Green Machine pulled off the 10-9 upset.

After the game, Atticus had to face the media just like a real pro athlete. And when asked what he thought about the game, he gave a pretty typical 8-year-old response: “I had lots of fun.”

You have to hand it to Make-A-Wish, the Portland Timbers, and their incredible fans, here. They not only gave a kid who’s been through a lot the experience of a lifetime. They also rewarded his friends for being so supportive, and they inspired all of us to go out of our way to help others.

See, I told you the Timbers would be your favorite MLS team by the end of this post.